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Karl Mercel
Karl Mercel was a brilliant medical doctor and student of botany who lived during the Phlogiston Pre-Revolution. His attempt to “heal the world” resulted in his tragic death. Young Professional Life Karl was born to a well-to-do family in Texas in E6Y702. He traveled to Unistan to study medicine when he came of age, then returned to Texas in order to practice. He was soon consumed with efforts to hold back the second outbreak of Eye Blight which began in E6Y723, when a rash of anti-vaccination propaganda enabled the disease to begin spreading again. Karl amputated eyes, isolated the infected, vaccinated anyone who would allow it, and researched new medications, but in his own eyes his efforts were never enough. Accounts from his associates also show that Karl was deeply depressed by the renewed advance of Blightweed in Fennoscandia and the increasing instability of international politics, which would shortly boil into the Plogistonian Revolution. He was disappointed by the failure of the Jaipur Reconciliation, but even more so by the fact that nothing of its kind had been re-attempted in nearly three centuries. His inner agonies culminated in a nervous breakdown, during which he screamed “Sick! The whole world is sick!” and broke a considerable amount of costly medical equipment. He was forced to become an inmate of his own hospital for several months while he recovered his mental equilibrium. Botany Projects Records of Karl Mercel next appear three years after his breakdown, in E6Y728. Apparently he quit his medical practice, bought a house in a quiet part of Texas, and threw himself into the study of botany. He had extensive correspondence with prominent scholars in Phlogistonia, and was seemingly much concerned with how the principles of working Phlogiston might be applied to plant life. A quote from one of his letters reads, “The self-replicating life of nature is so much stronger than individual human effort. Could I but infuse peace, compassion, and justice into a plant, they would grow until they covered the entire world.” Professor Tayshaun Brice visited Mercel's greenhouse in E6Y730 and was shocked to find a living and apparently tame specimen of Blightweed, accompanied by other bizarre organisms that were Karl's own creations. These were all intermediate efforts, however. Karl's main project was a gigantic seed, whose design and growth required years of work by him and his lone assistant, Keith Genneth. “This seed of my hopes,” Karl wrote, “will finally bring relief and healing to our troubled planet.” Death and Legacy Though Karl no longer formally practiced medicine, he was a naturally charitable soul and helped with a number of projects to improve quality of life in his small community. He was reportedly very protective of children. In the later years of his botanical work, he began subsisting on an entirely synthetic diet, stating that “Presumably there was nothing wrong with eating plants millenia ago, but sentience is now so widespread among them that I'd really rather not risk it. At any rate, salads always made Rujo Blightweed really nervous.” Unfortunately, this extreme gentleness was precisely what led him to be feared and despised by the general public. The following quotes have been culled from a surviving recording of a talk radio show of the time: “Anyone who refuses to kill plants must hate people.” “He wants all the Toothweed farmers to go out of business and starve.” “Just the other day, I saw Karl barge in and confront someone who was yelling at his kid. The guy has no respect for parental rights.” “One of these days he's going to turn that Blightweed loose on us, you believe me.” “Pansies *heh heh heh* like him are what's destroying Texas. If we had REAL MEN around here, his kind wouldn't be tolerated.” When word was leaked that Mercel had finally completed his seed, anger and panic spread rapidly through the town. A violent mob descended on his house and murdered Karl and Keith, who possessed no weapons. No longer restrained by their former masters, some of the plants became active and gruesomely killed several attackers, but the mob nonetheless succeeded in burning the house to the ground. Fortunately, Karl had possessed the foresight to secretly send the seed to the Vindicators several days before. A harrowing adventure ensued as Worldcorp agents attempted to recover the seed in order to direct its growth for maximum economic benefit, or destroy it if it proved utterly irreconcilable with their interests. But the Vindicators were skilled, and successfully smuggled the seed out of Texas to the University of Talepesia. Alas, despite decades of study and experimentation, the researchers at Talepesia have been unable to coax the seed to grow. From time to time some bumptious researcher suggests cutting the seed open, but respect for Karl's work and the seed's possible high intelligence always wins out. It remains alive, but dormant, in a climate-controlled room in the University basement. -- Ariane Vulpinia Citations Blightweed Francois' Wondrous Machines Jaipur Reconciliation Phlogiston Pre-Revolution Vindicators